Kansas and Kentucky are set to meet again Tuesday night, and the matchup has a different feel this time. John Calipari is gone from Lexington, Mark Pope is in charge of the Wildcats, and Bill Self still has Kansas rolling into another chapter of a rivalry that has quietly become a regular part of the college hoops calendar.
Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at Chicago’s United Center in the 2026 Champions Classic. It will be the first meeting between the programs since the 2023 edition of the event, also at the United Center, and the first time Pope has coached Kentucky against Kansas.
The schools have played 36 times, with Kentucky holding a 24-12 edge. But Kansas has had the upper hand lately, winning five of the last seven meetings and taking two straight overall. The two bluebloods, sitting at the top of college basketball’s all-time wins list - Kentucky with 2,446 and Kansas with 2,440 - have become familiar opponents despite being in different conferences.
Their most recent collision came in the 2023 Champions Classic, when No. 1 Kansas edged No.
17 Kentucky 89-84 on Nov. 14 in Chicago. Hunter Dickinson powered the Jayhawks with 27 points and a career-high 21 rebounds, while Dajuan Harris added a career-best 23 points and buried five 3-pointers.
Harris scored eight straight points late to wipe out a four-point deficit, and Kevin McCullar posted 12 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds for the fourth official triple-double in Kansas history and the second in Champions Classic history.
McCullar later added another triple-double against Chaminade in the Maui Invitational, joining Cole Aldrich and Jeff Withey as the other Jayhawks with official triple-doubles. Wilt Chamberlain and B.H. Born also are believed to have had multiple triple-doubles in an era before blocked shots were officially tracked.
KJ Adams scored 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting, and freshman Jamari McDowell helped close it out by making two free throws with 5.4 seconds left. McDowell also helped defend Antonio Reeves, who finished with 24 points but shot 7-of-25.
Reed Sheppard missed a late 3-pointer before Kansas finished on an 11-1 run. Adou Thiero had 16 points and 13 rebounds, while Rob Dillingham scored 16 of his 18 points before halftime and then fouled out.
Dickinson drew boos throughout the night from Kentucky and Michigan State fans who stayed after the opening Champions Classic game between Michigan State and Duke. Calipari said afterward that he was unhappy with how his team finished, though he praised the effort in the spotlight.
That 2023 game also featured Self opposite Calipari. This year, Self gets Pope, who saw Kansas twice while coaching BYU.
One of those matchups came on Feb. 27, 2024, when Pope’s BYU team walked into Allen Fieldhouse and snapped Kansas’ 19-game home winning streak with a 76-68 win. The Cougars and Jayhawks shot about the same from the field, but BYU made 13 of 34 from 3-point range while Kansas managed just 3 of 15. BYU also went 19 of 24 at the line, while Kansas finished 19 of 31, with Dickinson going 6 of 15 on free throws.
After the game was tied at 66 with 2:28 left, BYU closed on a 10-2 run. Dickinson finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds, Harris had 12 points and six assists, and Adams scored 11 points on 5-of-13 shooting.
McCullar did not play because of a knee injury. Dallin Hall and Jaxson Robinson combined for 36 points and hit seven threes for BYU.
Self called Kansas’ effort “pitiful,” and said BYU took over the second half after the Jayhawks had built an early lead. Pope called the win “really, really, really special,” pointing to his respect for Kansas and the belief his team showed in a loud building.
Pope later expanded on that feeling after Friday’s win over James Madison, saying, “Allen Fieldhouse is one of the iconic arenas in the world,” and adding, “The unique feel for me was they somehow squeezed 16,000 people into an arena that should hold 4,000. It’s magical, it really is.
“It’s a special place and it’s a birthplace of basketball in some ways. You got James Naismith rules right there on the wall.
It’s an iconic place. And Bill has been an incredible leader there.”
He also praised Self’s ability to keep changing with the game.
“I think for these great coaches,” he said, “one of the things is you notice with him is he’s been able to evolve and reinvent himself over and over and over again as the game and the situation changes and his experience changes. He’s done it really successfully and continues to do that as well. That’s why he’s one of the great coaches.”
Pope left BYU after that season for Kentucky.
The other Kansas-BYU meeting during Pope’s time in Provo came in the 2019 Maui Invitational semifinals, where Kansas won 71-56 on Nov. 26.
The Jayhawks controlled the paint 42-18, with David McCormack and Udoka Azubuike combining for 27 points and 15 rebounds. Azubuike’s steal and breakaway dunk in the first half gave Kansas a 24-19 lead and helped set the tone.
Kansas held BYU to 40.7% shooting and forced 20 turnovers. Ochai Agbaji scored 14 points, Devon Dotson added 13 points and eight assists, and TJ Haws led BYU with 16.
McCormack said Azubuike’s coast-to-coast dunk “sparked” the team, and Self said Kansas’ defense carried the day even though the offense was uneven. Kansas later beat Dayton for the Maui Invitational title.
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